After ’24 feat, BIR ready for ’25 challenges B R J S. A @reine_alberto
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MILLIONS ON EDGE AS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES THREATEN RENEWED DEVASTATION
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FTER declaring a remarkable feat in its tax collection drive for 2024, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is all too aware of the challenges it faces in raising revenues for the government this year. Internal Revenue Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui Jr. told the BM on Wednesday that excise tax collections and capturing online transactions will be among the challenges for the agency in 2025.
This is on top of the P3.323-trillion revenue target of the BIR for this year, after generating what was already billed as a “challenging” P2.848-trillion goal for 2024—a target it exceeded, and which, the BIR Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui Jr.: 2024 broke a 20-year drought, with the agency breaching full-year collection target after two decades. PHOTO COURTESY OF BIR
agency pointed out, happened only after 20 years. “Illicit trade remains rampant for traditional tobacco and vape is notoriously difficult to tax,” Lumagui Jr. told this newspaper. Last week, the BIR said it collected P134 billion in excise tax on tobacco products in 2024. This is lower by 27.68 percent
than the P185.3-billion target collection for the year, thus resulting in a shortfall of P51.3 billion. The challenge does not stop there, however, as the rampant illicit tobacco trade and misdeclaration of vapor products could cost the government P240.3 billion in excise tax leakages over the next three years. (See: https:// businessmirror.com.ph/2025/01/10/ illicit-tobacco-trade-vapor-fraudspell-p240-b-tax-loss/).
Taxing online transactions could also pose a problem for the
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Thursday, January 16, 2025 Vol. 20 No. 96
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@andreasanjuan
HE Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) has identified its top 7 concerns for 2025, including Corruption, Education, and Ease of Doing Business, among others.
At the 77th MAP Inaugural Meeting and Induction on Wednesday, 2025 MAP President Alfredo S. Panlilio said the business group will “certainly address the top 7 concerns of MAP members for 2025” which were generated through a survey in the 4th quarter of 2024. The seven concerns of the business group’s members for this year are: corruption, education, economy, ease of doing business, climate change, cybersecurity, and dealing with LGUs. To address corruption and ease of doing business, Panlilio said “we will continue to participate actively in the programs of the Anti-Red Tape Authority.” The MAP President said these concerns will be “directly” addressed by the business group’s four thrusts.
“To continue and sustain the noteworthy projects that were initiated or implemented by last year’s Board, MAP will continue to pursue the following four thrusts: Member Engagement, Country Competitiveness, ESG and Shared Prosperity, and Investing in the Youth,” Panlilio said. On member engagement, Panlilio said MAP will continue to ensure the “relevance” of the topics and issues covered in the MAP general membership meetings or GMMs in order to engage the membership in a more meaningful way. “We will cover relevant topics and developments so as to benefit the members, their companies and the economy. We will hold 1 to 2 GMMs outside Metro Manila, so we can engage our members in the C A
IN SWS DECEMBER SURVEY, 25.9% SAY THEY’RE HUNGRY MEAT PRICIER—WHY?
In a market in Las Piñas City, a meat vendor chops different parts of pork to be displayed. According to the seller of meat in the area, the prices of meat are going up and they don’t know why. They surmised it is not lack of supply, because there is meat still being delivered. NONIE REYES
B B A O @blessogerio
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ORE than a quarter of Filipino families experienced hunger in the past three months, with 25.9 percent reporting involuntary hunger in December 2024, according to the Social Weather Survey. This was a three-point rise from September’s 22.9 percent, and the highest since the Covid-19 lockdowns’ 30.7 percent in September 2020. The figure also marks a 16.1-point increase from September 2023, following five consecutive quarters of rising hunger rates. The 2024 annual hunger average was at 20.2 percent, nearly double the 10.7 percent in 2023, and is 0.9 points shy of the record high 21.1 percent in 2020. December’s hunger breakdown includes 18.7 percent experiencing moderate hunger (those who faced hunger “once” or “a few times” in the last three months)
and 7.2 percent severe hunger (those who faced hunger “frequently” or “constantly” in the last three months). Moderate hunger rose by 1.9 points, while severe hunger increased by 1.1 points compared to September 2024. Additionally, about 51 percent of families self-rated as food-poor, the highest in over 20 years, and up from 46 percent in September. (See: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2025/01/10/63of-pinoy-families-rate-themselvespoor-highest-level-since-2003/)
Regional hunger rates climb
ACCORDING to SWS, the threepoint rise in hunger between September and December last year was driven by increases in Balance Luzon and Metro Manila, coupled with a slight decline in Visayas and minimal change in Mindanao. In Balance Luzon, hunger rose S “SWS,” A
Remittance flows slow in Nov on serial typhoons
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OME Filipinos abroad may have reserved more money to send home for Christmas, as remittance flows dropped in November 2024, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed. Cash remittances grew to $2.81 billion in November 2024, higher by 3.3 percent from $2.72 billion in November a year ago. However, cash remittances dropped in November 2024 from $3.079 billion in October 2024. Institute for Migration and Development Issues (IMDI) Executive Director Jeremaiah M. Opiniano told the BusinessMirror that cash remittances went down in November due to the series of typhoons that swept the country in October. “But apparently, some compa-
triots abroad saved remitting some amounts—perhaps for Christmas,” Opiniano said, noting that Filipinos wired more money to their dependents in October. With the peso depreciating to near P59 per dollar in November, remittances may have also surged, “giving more bang to overseas Filipinos’ buck,” Opiniano added. Although this could be beneficial to Filipinos receiving money from abroad as the value of the peso would increase, Opiniano warned that this could be bad for importers. During the 11-month period, cash remittances went up by 3 percent to $31.11 billion from $30.21 billion recorded during the same S “R,” A
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PESO EXCHANGE RATES US 58.5470 ■ JAPAN 0.3707 ■ UK 71.5269 ■ HK 7.5190 ■ SINGAPORE 42.8476 ■ AUSTRALIA 36.2523 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 15.5980 ■ EU 60.3561 ■ KOREA 0.0402 ■ CHINA 7.9861 Source: BSP (January 15, 2025)